Friday, December 10, 2010

ENGLISH MINCEMEAT

Christmas (or Yule-tide) is getting closer everyday and although this year it falls on a Saturday meaning that some of us might not have a longer weekend, most people will want to celebrate this day in a very festive way. No matter if you are not Christian or if the commercial misuse of this event disgust you or puts you off, I guess that like me, you'll nonetheless want to cook or bake something fine for the occasion and will want to do some extreme cocooning...

As I miss England and feel awfully nostalgic when thinking about my second country (I am lucky and proud to have dual nationality and beserker ancestors - Swiss and English) I thought that it would be a great idea to make it a british Xmas this year and eat foods that would remind me of my beloved roots. So in 2010, I will be serving turkey with stuffing (sage & onion) and it's accompaniment (Brussel sprouts with chestnuts & bacon, buttery mashed tatties and gravy). To make it even the more British than it is already, we'll have "Mince Pies" for dessert - an exquisite treat that I have alaways loved as a kid and have been craving since a while.

After having received my Christmas issues of Delicious, Good Food and Jamie Magazine there was no reason I was not going to make my own "Mincemeat". All three magazines offer wonderful recipes for this amazing specialitywhich originates from Great Britain and can be traced back to the end of Middle Ages (circa the 15th century).

During this epoch finding a method of storing food was of the highest importance and many ways had been developped (pickling, jarring, curing, spicing, etc...). So, initially "Mincemeat" began as a way to preserve food therefore that paste-like mixture can be kept for quite a while (1 month and depending on the kind of fat used, for up to a year).

It is very interesting to note that our modern era "Mincemeat" is quite different from the one which was prepared until the 19th century. The original preparation was made with beef, lamb, venison or heart which was finely minced and mixed to suet, dried fruits, citrus peel, alcohol and spices, hence the name it carries. Although this version is now unusual and quite rare to find, some families still perpetuate the tradition.

Although I've eaten my share of "Mince Pies" in the past, this is my first homemade "Mincemeat" and I must say that the result surpasses my expectations by far. Without trying to boast too much, I must recognize that mine is exactly the way it should be and tastes perfect. It has a fresh, tangy, frangrant, fruity, heady, delicately nutty, divinely spicy, well-balanced flavor and isn't too sweet nor sickly. Very Xmassy and so festive.

Method:1. Put the orange and lemon zest and juices into a biggish pan.2. Peel, quarter and core the apple. Grate it and add it to the pan. Stir into the juices so that it doesn’t discolour.3. Add the butter, lard, rum, dried fruits, candied peels and spices. Cook over a low heat, stirring frequently, for 1 hour until the apple has broken down, the dried fruits are plump and all the liquid has evaporated.4. Let cool, then add the sugar and the toasted almonds. Mix well.5. Spoon into cool, sterilised jam jars, press a waxed disc firmly onto the surface of the mixture and seal.6. Put in the refrigerator and use within 1 month.

Remarks:Instead of using dark rum, you can use calvados, sherry, brandy or whisky.You can replace the almonds by hazelnuts or any other roasted nut of your choice (not traditional but ok).Mincemeat flavors develop over time, so make in several weeks in advance of the holidays.If you want you mincemeat to have a longer shelf life, then omit the butter and stir in 100g shredded suet at the end (don't add 20g lard at the beginning), along with the sugar and almonds. In that way your mincemeat will keep for up to a year in a cool dark place.It freezes well too – for up to 6 months.

Your beautiful photos and the way you describe it has us all clamoring to make our own mincemeat - if you're English at all, anyway - which one half of me is :) The winter scenes in your last post were magnificent in their stark beauty and I love the last one in this post. Merry Yuletide!

Every time I have mincemeat it seems to be a different recipe and a different taste. I'm thrilled for you that yours came out the way you wished it to. I too hadn't realized that mincemeat still had meat as an ingredient. Thank you for the education and let us know how you use it. In addition to pies, I've had it as a wonderful filler for crepe.

I've been wanting a suet free mincemeat recipe for ages and finally here it is! Just perfect as I'd expect of you and thanks too for the history of the name. Your photos are always beautiful and I love the one of the spices spilling out of the jar especially.

Sounds like a wonderful Christmas feast. Can I come over? Almost all these ingredients (except 1 - 2) are the same I use in my Christmas cake, which of course is British. I just finished wetting it with some booze, it's almost drunk :)

Ooh, Rosa, you have me so curious about traditional mincemeat. I always love North African dishes with meat, dried, fruits and spices. Hence I would think that I might like the original. Yours is safer though, and looks so rich with taste and health. I might make it:)!

Wow, you're the second person on the same day who publish on mincemeat. I will redo it this year. I tend to put a bit of rhum on top of the mincemeat before sealing it which would help to preserve longer. I might be wrong...

We live in Maryland.. my son has been wanting me to make him mincemeat for years and I just couldn't get past the suet - now...I'll try it. Thanks for the recipes... they live in Annapolis. jennsthreegraces Jennifer

I have never had mincemeat, but I see a lot of posts as of late for it. I should try it, it sounds like wonderful flavors for this cold weather. We finally got some snow, and it puts me even more in the mood for Christmas!

I would love to taste this mincemeat, It's a new thing to me. When I first read about it in GOODFOOD mag, I thought, What!!! meat in pies with something sweet.. and then I read the ingredients!!! The recipe looks quite delicious.

i really love this recipe..i tried it last night and it was fantastic! i will do a post on that soon....this is my fav christmas treat..thanks rosa for sharing this recipe with us..hope you have a lovely day.

I always wondered why it was called mincemeat if it contained no meat but now I know the original had! Good to know :) I just had my first mincemeat experience and lets just say I'm excited to try making it myself!

Rosa, I have one question about making this recipe. You say it will taste better in made a few weeks in advance, so should I freeze it until Christmas? If so, do I omit the butter...or just make as is and freeze it until the holidays? Thank you!

Hi Tammy. No, you don't need to freeze it! Follow the recipe without omitting the butter and spoon into cool, sterilised jam jars, press a waxed disc firmly onto the surface of the mixture and seal. That's all. The mincemeat will keep for ages in a cool and dark cupboard... Cheers and Happy Holidays!